40 Years Ago Today

It was 40 years ago today that Apollo 11 landed on the moon. It is a shame that after the Apollo program concluded in 1972 that there were no further moon landings. Perhaps the reasons were budgetary or maybe politics had something to do with it. Hopefully in the years to come there will be a second generation of lunar exploration.

I think back to what I was doing on July 20, 1969. I was a student at the City College of New York taking summer classes in basic economics and sociology. They closed school on Monday July 21 to celebrate. Since classes were in the morning I worked at Alexanders Department Store in Rego Park from 2 PM - 6 PM. I was dating a girl named Elissa who lived in Eastern Queens.



Everyone's Gone to the Moon by Jonathan King was a hit in 1965. Radio stations did play it as an oldie in the summer of 1969.

Day Trip to Atlantic City

For the first time in 4 years we took a day trip to Atlantic City. We decided to wait until this year so that we could take Lee to the casinos since he has passed his 21st birthday. The bus came by at 8:30 and we arrived in Atlantic City at about noon. Security is very tight in the casinos. We had to show identification to get a card allowing us to gamble and to get a $25 voucher. While we were in the casino about 4 people walked up to Lee asking for ID since he does not look 21 years old. I did not like the new technologies for the slot machines. It was somewhat fun to insert a quarter and hear the quarter spew out of the machine after a win and place your money in a cup. Now winnings and loses are recorded on a computer card.

Of course, I took my Sony Walkman to listen on the bus. I was able to check out several radio stations along the Jersey shore. We got home about 10 PM. A disadvantage is that 7 out of the 13 hours are spent traveling from Queens to Atlantic City, but with the casino voucher, the trip is almost free. I never had much gambling spirit, so playing with the slot machines is like laying video games. I just lost the $25 from the voucher. We spent some time walking along the Boardwalk and bought some of the famous Atlantic City taffy.

Don't Worry Be Happy - The World Will Not Come to an End

Since Allan Sniffen wrote a memo calling for the demise of Saturday Night Oldies there has been a flurry of activity and speculation among the show’s most devoted listeners, some of whom read this journal.

Here are the facts:

The show has been rebranded as Saturday Night.
Mark Simone plays mostly 70s and 80s music
There has been more talk and less music.
The show has been cut from 4 hours to 3 hours
Some former diehards have stopped listening
The message board postings have declined.
The show is doing well in the ratings and the management is satisfied with the advertising dollars.

The major speculation is that the show is experiencing a slow death and will soon be taken off the air. Readers and listeners, please heed my call:

Change is inevitable
Nothing in this world is absolutely permanent

What will happen if Saturday Night Oldies is cancelled?

The world will not come to an end
Mark Simone will be on the Saturday morning show and will fill in when other WABC hosts are off
There will be other sources where we can hear oldies or classic hits.
The virtual community spawned by the message board will not die. We will have Meets and Greets

Big New York City Radio News

In a three way deal the New York Times is selling classical music radio station WQXR. A Spanish organization called Univision will be taking over the 96.3 FM frequency while the classical music will move to 105.9 FM now WCAA. WQXR will now be owned by WNYC. 96.3 FM has a much better signal so classical music enthusiasts in the suburbs may have a problem with reception on 105.9 FM.

Nothing in this world remains the same. It is no secret that the New York Times among many other newspapers is having financial problems and wanted to sell the station. Some years ago a former colleague interested in classical music told me that he didn't like hearing his music on the radio since with commercials they could only play short pieces. Commercial classical music stations have been accused of having tight playlists which make real enthusiasts of that genre unhappy.

This is similar to a situation in 1988 when NBC got out of the radio business. It sold WYNY at 97.1 on the dial which then moved to 103.5 while WQHT moved to 97.1. I remember on that day I had two tape decks going to record the switchovers.

Do I Really Need another Radio?

It was announced yesterday the availability of a personal stereo that can receive HD stations. I am tempted to buy it for $50. On one hand you can say for $50 this is a no brainer, but can also think that cheap is cheap. I have owned an Accurian HD radio for almost 3 years. I get reasonably good HD reception in Queens about 8 miles from the transmitter. My basic disappointment is that except for WFUV and the True Oldies Channel on 95.5 HD2, programming on HD2 stations has not been fully developed. They are still only music streams. Maybe I should wait until more portables are on the market.

Anyway, I am looking around my apartment and count 10 radios including my car radio. Do I really need another one?

Andrea - how many radios do you own?

Spotlight on Roger McGuinn

On his 67th birthday Roger certain disserves on of my spotlights. I have been following his career with the Byrds and as a solo artist since 1965. Roger was the anchor of the group after many personnel changes. After the group disbanded he has had a very successful solo career. Below is a solo version of Turn Turn Turn. If you search YouTobe, you will also find Roger being interviewed by David Letterman.

Doo Wop at Flushing Town Hall This Afternoon

Over the past year we have gone to several events at Flushing Town Hall right in the neighborhood. Last summer there were several free concerts on Friday night, but this year they have moved it to Sunday afternoon. Today there was a Doo Wop concert by Warren Tesoro and the Exceptions. They covered many hits from the late 50s and early 60s.